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The state will release August’s unemployment numbers next week. July’s rate was the same as June’s, 8 percent which was almost half a percent lower than last July, but are the jobs being added in Arizona good jobs? Michael Hayes said no.

A 99-year-old Arizona music icon will have his work celebrated and performed at the Musical Instrument Museum this weekend. A look at the career and impact of the man known as “Chapito.” This is Pachanga, a song performed by Chapito Chavarria and his band at clubs, weddings, quincenieras and dances throughout Arizona during the '50s, '60s and '70s.

Not sure if this officially counts as a holiday in state government wonk-ville, but Friday is the General Effective Date, the day on which most bills signed during the legislative session become law. Hank Stephenson, a reporter for the Arizona Capitol Times, gives a sense of what some of those new laws are, but first, let’s do the numbers on this year’s bills.

Did You Know Phoenix
has a park that is more than 100 years old? It’s
located near the city’s downtown area.
A sign welcomes visitors to Eastlake Park. (Photo by Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez-KJZZ)
Over the years this Phoenix
park has hosted civil rights marches and rallies.

When Arizona State’s football team takes the field against the Wisconsin Badgers on Saturday night, about 40 Sun Devils will be wearing special helmets that monitor when a player suffers a head impact.

Arizona
continues to grieve the loss of 19 hotshot firefighters, during the summer
wildfire season. But, in terms of lost forests, this year was less destructive
than average, according to Fire Prevention Officer Carrie Dennett, of the State
Forestry Division.

A new law taking effect Friday will allow political
candidates to take much more money from individuals and political action
committees. The measure scraps the current limit of less than $15,000 on what a
legislative candidate can take from all PAC's for their races.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office is
introducing a new app for smartphones. ICE says it will allow you to join the
hunt for child predators. Spokeswoman
Amber Cargile says the first-of-its-kind app contains four user-friendly
screens.

It'll cost you a little more to fill up your gas tank this
weekend. AAA Arizona says gas prices have gone up about a penny on average to
$3.40 a gallon statewide. But, spokeswoman Michelle Donatti says prices will
likely go down some in the weeks ahead as demand drops off.

Arizona midwives
are seeking permission to give their patients potentially life-saving drugs. As
it stands now, midwives now face felony charges if they buy, carry or administer
medication. So, the
Arizona Association of Midwives is looking for the ability to use items like eye
ointment for newborns and anti-hemorrhaging drugs.

Some
of Arizona State University’s football players are helping researchers to
better understand the molecular markers of concussions. The goal is to make head injuries easier to quickly identify and
treat.

Sedona’s city council is ready to approve civil unions for gay couples. Sedona will become the fourth city in Arizona recognizing same-sex relationships.Mayor Rob Adams said the city council decided this week to vote on the proposal at its meeting on Sept.

Arizona’s Medicaid expansion plan officially went into
effect Thursday, but a lawsuit filed this morning hopes to block it. A day after expansion opponents failed to turn in enough
signatures to put the law on hold until next November’s election, the Goldwater
Institute filed a lawsuit, arguing the plan is unconstitutional.

A piece of
9/11 history will soon be taking root in Prescott. The city was presented with
a seedling Wednesday from a tree rescued from the rubble of the terror attacks
in New York City. Prescott received the gift in honor of its resiliency after
the loss of 19 elite fire fighters in June.

Charges are pending against four juveniles who were arrested for damaging an aviation tower near the Flagstaff airport.&nbsp; Police Sgt. Cody Runge said the four were taken into custody after a stake-out by officers following a string of incidents between May and September of this year.

Fire officials in Mesa say the emergency equipment at a gas station, worked just as it is supposed to, when a motorist made a big mistake and ignited a fire. "The gentleman was filling up the gas tank, left the nozzle inside his vehicle and drove away, but the hose itself had broke away," said fire department spokesman Forrest Smith.

The Coconino County Sheriff's Office said a 27-year-old man is recovering after his legs were crushed by a 30-ton boulder, dislodged during recent rains along the Mount Eldon Lookout Road.&nbsp; Gerry Blair is a spokesman for the Sheriff's office and said the victim was part of a group heading up the mountain to work on the radio towers there.

Ceremonies are taking place across the country Wednesday to remember the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Arizonans are looking back in their own ways including Phoenix firefighter Jack Johnson, one of the many first-responders who went to Manhattan after the twin towers came down to dig through the rubble.

This week, half a dozen Arizona lawmakers led by House speaker Andy Tobin are in Mexico City on a trade mission. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is among a group heading to China to take in meetings at the World Economic Forum, and Gov.

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